Sky Sox Baseball

Yay, the Sky Sox opening game is this Friday! SpringsBargains just posted this season's discount schedule here. I'll be working at the stadium again this season (at least until the baby arrives) and I can't wait! Fireworks, hot dogs, and cool summer evenings, here we come. See you there!

Cool Art and T-shirts

My unnaturally talented sister-in-law, Danielle, has recently graduated with degrees in Art and Math. Unique combination, I know, but you would expect it coming from a girl who does gymnastics on horseback and wins boxing championships. She just started a blog showcasing all of her creations that are for sale. Here are a few of my favorites:

She also sells really sweet t-shirts. I think the term for this would be upcycling? Check out t-shirts reinvented.

If you're looking for some unique art for your home or a sweet t-shirt, check out Danielle's blog for more!

Have you heard of Swagbucks?

I discovered this weird search engine that rewards you for using it.  Every time that you complete a search with Swagbucks, you enter for a chance to randomly win points that can be redeemed for a variety of prizes, including books, video games, musical instruments, gift cards, and more.  I'm saving my points for an Amazon.com gift card so I can buy whatever I want!  

I know what you're thinking...you love Google, so why trust some random new search engine?  Swagbucks is actually powered by Google, and I've tested both and found that they produce identical results (just a different layout).  I've been using it for a couple weeks and have earned 31 swagbucks so far.  To give you an idea of what that means, you can get a $5 gift card to Amazon.com for 45 swagbucks.  It'll take a while to earn prizes, but I use search engines all the time, so why not be rewarded for it?  

I'm only blogging about this for my own selfish benefit :).  For each of my friends that signs up, I will be rewarded with Swagbucks whenever you are rewarded!  The same will happen for you when you invite friends of your own.  Search and win!

If you decide to sign up, would you mind leaving a comment here to let me know?  Thanks!

Thanks to Common Sense with Money for the tip!

One Dozen Cupcakes - FREE!

UPDATE:  Sarah sent me an email on 5/7 saying that there has been a death in the family and she needed to postpone my order.  I'm not sure if she still intends to offer this deal.

I was cruising around on craigslist last night (very bored at work), and I found an ad for FREE CUPCAKES!  I figured it was too good to be true, but since I would do anything for free cupcakes, I looked into it, and it's actually a sweet deal.  

Sweetcakes Cupcake Bakery is a new home-based business in Colorado Springs.  Sarah, the owner, recently moved to town and before opening a storefront, she thought she would spread the word about her delicious cupcakes by letting us have a taste.  Sarah will bake and deliver one dozen cupcakes within 10 miles of Fort Carson for FREE!  I just talked to her and we are going to meet at the Citadel Mall so she doesn't have to drive all the way out to my house.  

Check out her website at www.sweetcakescupcakebakery.com for a list of flavors.  I chose Orange Creamsicle, which is orange flavored cupcake with vanilla pudding filling and orange frosting (doesn't that sound dreamy?). 

Don't worry, I asked Sarah if she would mind if I told friends and family about this and she said to spread the word!  Enjoy!

Baskin Robbins 31 cent Scoop Night

Here's a sweet deal for ya:  Baskin Robbins ice cream for 31 cents per scoop! 

• Wednesday, April 29
• 5 pm to 10 pm
• Limit 3 scoops per person
• Sales benefit the National Volunteer Fire Council (NVFC) National Junior Firefighter Program

Plus, did you know that you can get free ice cream on your birthday if you register on their website?  www.baskinrobbins.com

Oh, and I hope you don't mind that I put advertising on my blog.  I'm just curious... can you blame me?  If you find it really annoying please leave a comment and I'll get rid of it.  I'm sure I'll make big bucks with my avid readership :).

Speaking of yummy treats, here's a picture of Baby after eating her birthday cake (I didn't get any pictures of her eating but will upload a video soon!).  Her first taste of sugar was successful.  I'm sure if she had a tooth it would be a sweet one!  I gave her a huge slice and then felt guilty so I stole it away when she was halfway done (which is probably what I should have felt guilty about; what kind of a mom does that?).  Don't worry, she didn't notice it was gone.   By the way, the brown stuff on the side of her head is not hair, it's chocolate.  That's my girl!  

 (Thanks for the picture, mom!)

Sweet Deal: Staples Paper Freebie

"Um, I think we have more paper than Work".  -Nick

I'm discovering that being a SAHM is very different than being a DINK (Stay-at-Home-Mom vs. Dual-Income-No-Kids.  Keep up with my acronyms, people!).  I've always been cheap; now I'm scary-cheap.  I routinely check websites like Coupon Mom and Deal Seeking Mom to find out about deals you can get when you combine coupons/rebates and sales.  By spending a little extra time researching before making my shopping list, I've been able to save some money and start a small stockpile of items we use all the time.  The only problem is that I often get excited about a good deal only to find that our local stores don't carry that specific size, have sold out of the item, don't accept my coupon, or don't have the same sale prices that these national websites list.  

Whenever I find a great deal at our Colorado Springs stores, I'll let you know about it.  

Yesterday, I found a deal on Common Sense with Money for reams of paper at Staples.  Apparently, they are changing their packaging so they're offering a $5.99 rebate on a $6.99 package.  Even better, they accept competitor's coupons, so you can use this $10 off $50 Office Depot coupon.  I can confirm that our Staples on Powers Blvd. is indeed offering this sale and rebate, will accept this coupon, and as of yesterday, had plenty of this paper in stock (although I did have to ask them to get more from the backroom).  Staples has a really easy rebate program through their website, too; it took about 2 minutes to submit and I will receive my rebate within 4-6 weeks.

Here's what I did:

8 reams of paper @ $6.99 each:  $55.92

$10 off $50 Office Depot coupon:  -$10.00

Rebate of $5.99 each:  -$47.92

Total Cost:  -$2  (yes, you will actually earn a profit)

Now we have enough paper to last for the rest of our lives.  I just need to find a place to store it...